Fun on the Farm

Today started off just like any other day. Up with the chickens, feed the dogs, feed the chickens, water the chickens, add worms to the compost pile, plant cucumbers, plant carrots, plant lettuce, clean manure out of the chicken coop and add it to the compost pile. Then it got fun.

This hen is not just a source of eggs, she makes the fertilizer for our garden too!

My buddy Tim has been wanting some cow manure to put in his garden. Since I have a never ending supply of fresh cow crap, I told him to come on over. He showed up with some help and a trailer to get it. It didn't take long to fill up a trailer with five of us shoveling the manure, so since I am a 14 year old trapped in a 50 year old's body, I started goofing off. Kyle started pitching cow patties to me and I was hitting them with a shovel. Manure would fly everywhere. Yep doesn't take much to amuse me.

Matt gives this load of manure the "Thumbs Up" while Brian just keeps working.

In all seriousness, cow manure and chicken manure make great fertilizer. My goal is to totally be able to grow my vegetables next year with no chemical fertilizer. I am composting the manure and my wife Melinda is going to be starting a worm farm soon. The castings from the worms and the liquid from the process make the best fertilizer you can get. I am just done with all the chemicals and additives that are in our food these days. Did you know that chemicals that have been banned in this country are still used on crops in the countries that import food to us? Did you also know that less than 2% of these imported vegetables and fruits are inspected upon entry to this country. It's a challenge to find a vegetable or fruit in the grocery store that is from the good ole USA. So we can safely say that most of that produce has no certain criteria that it has to meet before it gets on your table. Who knows what it's been sprayed with. I am not trying to scare you, just make you aware of what you are eating. Now just because something is from the U. S. doesn't mean it's safe and healthy. I know a farmer that has treated human sewage dumped in his pastures. It doesn't smell like it's been treated too much. His cows eat the grass that it's dumped on, thus ingesting the human sewage. After they do this for a few months, they are loaded on a trailer, taken to the sale, and if you buy your beef at a grocery store, ultimately end up on YOUR hamburger bun.

A chemical free Sweet Banana Pepper just about ready for our table.

That's why we are disconnecting from the grocery store. I have big plans for our 5 acre homestead. As I make progress, I'll keep you up to date and hopefully inspire some of you to disconnect too, even if it's only starting a container garden on your patio. I can do it,and you can do it too. I believe Thomas Jefferson once said  " Farming is the backbone of Democracy". I'll post about my feelings on that at a later date. Don't want to scare you off too soon. LOL